Don't Sweat It
by Jaci Ray
Summary: What would you do if you realized your lover is a mass murderer, and you were on the case that required you to take her out, more literally this time? Loosely based characters from All Time Low. Don't sweat it, forget it, everything is A-okay.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, so this is a cross over of sorts. Four of the characters are loosely based off of All Time Low. I got this idea from a dream, but unlike Stephanie Meyer, my characters don't sparkle. **

**Enjoy! R/R please?  
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><p>I was sitting at my desk at our office, bent over the papers that were scattered around. Scanning them as closely as possible, I had to refrain from swinging my arm at them, forcing them to flutter to the floor.<p>

It angered me. Working like this. I kept this case . . . Only because of these girls stole my heart . . . No; one of these criminals stole my heart, like she stole the lives of many others. Just as the other stole Jack's and the other stole Zack's. Oh, how they were infatuated with watching our hearts crumble, only to be engulfed in flame.

Rian was the only one who couldn't understand. Understand our undying need to bring these girls down. He just knew we felt the need to, but couldn't understand how. Why would we three, who had always been easy going throughout life, been driven to the point of exhaustion, because of three girls.

But the thing was, we _were_ exhausted. Tired of this case. Tired of the fact that, every time I saw that _one_ girl, my whole world came crashing down. And just tired of the fact that this case may be driving me to the point of madness.

I stared at the mug shots of the three girls. Glaring at the blond girl, and the raven haired girl. But I stared longingly at the fiery red haired sweetheart.

Zayda. God, how I missed her. Her soft, pink lips that stood out against her pale flesh. Her red hair which was a bigger contrast. Her gray eyes that sparkled whenever she talked about cars, or some video game she used to play when she was younger (they all played games, we suggested it was why they were brutally murdering people).

I must admit. There _were_ times where I flat out hated Jackie, the blond, and Xania, the raven haired girl. I hated them, for the idea that maybe; just maybe, Zayda, my Zayda, was having her mind clouded by the other two.

But it wouldn't matter, now would it? She still killed dozens, who knows? Hundreds.

These girls were killing machines.

They couldn't have had hobbies such as collecting stamps, or drawing. No, their hobbies were reading, playing instruments and listening to music, and _killing_.

Most likely better killers than any man known to history.

I was snapped back into reality by Jack who gripped my shoulder slightly.

Jack had fallen in love with Jackie, I'll admit, we teased him. To be fair, she was a pretty girl. Platinum blond, her eyes were a green, a dab of hazel around her pupil, olive near the whites of her eye, and they tended to change color with weather, or the clothes she wore. She had a fiery personality, which covered up a sweet, emotional interior. She was, cocky, let's call it. She felt herself superior to others. And, damn well she might have been.

Zack on the other hand fell, hard, for Xania. Her icy blue eyes in contrast with her dark blue-black hair. Xania was a beautiful girl; her personality was rich, and philosophical. She could be cocky, but no where close to Jackie.

I remember conversing with Jack and Zack about wanting to propose to Zayda. They had smiled at me and told me they knew how I felt. These girls had seemed so perfect to us. We wanted them to be our wives. Hell, I would have wanted children with Zayda. Little Alex children running around at full speed, high on life.

But now, I couldn't even tell if what Zayda felt for me, what she claimed to feel for me, was even true. How _was_ I to know? Did she really fall for me? Or was it all just a lie to try to get me to fall under the same spell all the others had.

Then I would remember one fact.

Most of the deaths those girls caused, were one night stands. I doubt even that. Zayda hated one night stands. Or at least, so I thought.

"I know how you feel." Jack muttered quietly.

"I know, you know." I sighed.

Rian barged into the room, gasping for air slightly.

"We have a lead."

Zack, Jack, and I had our magnums in a heart beat. "Let's go."


	2. Chapter 2

We were dressed and out the door. We wore bullet proof vests underneath our collared shirts. Our pistols hidden in the small of our back where I shirts concealed them. We wore jeans, and converse. It was a style that attracted the girls we were after.

Our intelligence informed us they were hanging out at a club. The clubs of Miami were great targets for them. Too many easy victims . . .

Xania was most likely wearing micro shorts that she probably bought at some nice boutique, even though she wasn't a shopper, and a nice, low hanging shirt. Maybe a great pair of converse. Her hair framing her pretty face . . .

I shook my head, hoping I could clear the fog that was forming in my mind.

"Zack, Xania will know when you're near." Rian muttered.

"I know. But we have to try. Luckily, this club had the dark and smoky atmosphere. We're safe." I sighed.

"Are you safe from Xania?" He gave me a sideways glance.

"Of course he is. We all are." Jack mumbled as I turned in my seat to study him.

His eyes weren't focused. I knew he was thinking of Jackie.

My eyes flashed to Alex before turning back in my seat.

It was the same situation as Jack.

The car stopped and Rian let us out of the car, and we were quick to jump out and step into the line.

When we made it to the front door, we flashed out IDs and headed inside.

The music was blasting, I could almost feel my heart beat adjust to the bass of the music. It was some acid-techno thing they had going.

I was right, the club was dark save for the neon lights flashing around, and the club had a smoky atmosphere. Seizure worthy.

There were guys dancing with guys, well, grinding on them. And girls sprawled out on the couches set here and there. God knows why. Then there were girls flirting by the bar.

I saw their hair. The blond, redhead, and black haired girls flirting with the bartender. They reminded me of three things; Charlie's Angels (if only they *were* angels), Totally Spies (the evil version), and some band of three girls whose name escapes me.

I slipped a note into Xania's pocket before slipping away myself.

I found my way out the backdoor. Waiting, pressed against the wall.

The door opened, and I only made out a flash of dark hair, before I reacted.

In a second I had Xania pinned against the wall.

"What the heck are you doing?" She growled.

"You're under arrest for mass murder." I had to press every part of my body to keep her from making a swift kick to my manhood. We had been in a position like this, put instead of my legs pressed to hers, my-

"Like hell she is." Jackie cocked a pistol at me, breaking my train of thought.

Jack, I don't know how, found us out side, throwing Jackie and pinning her to the floor, using his knees to pin her thighs, using his strength over her to keep her arms down.

Alex was behind Jack, about to help him, when he was pounced by a red haired fury.

Rian, the only one who would be able to handle this rationally, and shoot the girls without a problem, was no where to be found.

I was distracted, and Xania used it to her advantage.

Her fist met my jaw, the speed she put into the punch was more shocking then the force.

I staggered away and before she attacked I put my hand to my jaw and gave a smirk that could break hearts, "Don't mess with this face, my dear Xania."

She smirked before throwing herself at me.

Jackie managed to land a kick on Jack, and I saw him fall flat on his back.

Alex had Zayda face down, pressing her cheek into the asphalt. Smart man.

Xania had my pistol turned against me, but I skillfully stripped from her fingers.

The fight went on for another minute, ending with my cheek against the brick wall of the ally. Jack being straddled by Jackie, and Alex's arms twisted behind his back with him on his knees.

Rian, damn him, must have been searching the club.

Zayda muttered something into her phone, and a SUV pulled up.

They threw us into the vehicle, making sure we were tied up and gagged.

Jackie stepped into the SUV last, her blond managed to look nearly perfect. Alex would want to know her secret.

She shot Alex and I a glare, before looking deeply into Jack's eyes. Jack froze from his thrashing and feeble attempts to yell for help. The look he gave her was longing. At that moment he wanted her. Like I wanted Xania. Like Alex wanted Zayda.

"We're done with this little chase, boys. Sorry to have broken your little hearts, nothing personal, but you're both coming with us." She stated.

I cursed under my breath and shut my eyes tight, hoping that Rian would find us


	3. Chapter 3

I watched Xania press hard on Zack and Alex's pressure points. She left Jack alone. She knew I wanted to do what I pleased.

My eyes flickered to Jack's pretty brown eyes, before letting them trail along his body. He gazed at me longingly, that I could tell.

I forced myself to look up at Zayda. "How long until we get to our 'HQ' per say?"

"Twenty."

I nodded.

I hated time. Time sucked.

With a sigh I decided to milk this situation.

I crawled into the back of the SUV; we had the seats furthest back removed for, um, space.

Alex was slumped over Zack; Jack just glared at his shoes.

Jack barely noticed me until I was straddling his lap. "Hello, my dear." I smiled sweetly at him.

His focus wasn't entirely there until I spoke, his eyes tracing over my features, my hair, and then my clothes.

I decided to take the moment to study him too, his face was still gorgeous, and his hair still looked far better than mine. He still had the blond streak dyed into it to distinguish himself from Alex – they looked strangely similar. His eyes were brighter, but I could trace the depression he had been suffering. His lips weren't curved up into a cocky smirk like they used to be 24/7. It made my heart sink a little bit.

I reached up and ran my hand through his hair, something I knew he remembered me doing fondly. His hair was still soft and I could still grab and pull on it. Good, it was just the way I liked it on him. I threatened his life one time when he told me he considered cutting it.

"Cut your hair, and I cut your neck open." I had said. My statement may have been slightly realistic, but still. His hair was gorgeous, and I loved it.

"I'm going to ask you questions. Nod or a shake of the head for my answer." I sighed.

"Does the government know a lot about us?" I fluttered my eye lashes.

He rolled his eyes.

With a scowl, I pressed my chest against his, and kissed his neck softly, before kissing up to his ear, "Please, Jack? Don't you love me?"

I could hear Jack whimper softly as I nibbled his ear lobe softly. I pulled away.

"So, does the government know a lot about us?"

He nodded ever so slightly; I could see the immediate regret in his eyes.

"Do you know a lot of doings? Have they been able to track us easily?"

He looked away from me.

I slid an index finger under his chin and guided it back to face me, leaning in, less than half an inch away from his face.

"Tell me." I ordered.

He managed to muster up a glare.

I pressed my lips to his exposed ones.

He shook his head, but I knew it wasn't an answer to my question.

I kissed him again, pressing my chest firmly against his again.

When I pulled away, the hint of depression in his eyes was greater.

"Fine, Jack, I'll deal with you we get to HQ." I sighed before making my way back to my seat.


	4. Chapter 4

I was almost relieved when Jackie pulled away from me, and crawled back into the seats further up. I was afraid I'd lose control. Afraid I'd give away information. I couldn't resist her . . .

I shook my head to myself.

I could if I wanted to, I mean, I just did, didn't I?

I sighed.

That had been a crappy attempt, and I knew it. As soon as her lips met mine, I lost it. I was flooded by memories, by our past closeness, and our past, period.

She had basically walked around with my heart on her sleeve.

I sighed again, letting my strongest memory of all take over.

I recalled rolling out of bed that morning, after a rather fun night.

I had glanced back at the sleeping form that was curled up in my bed. Jackie's hair was a platinum halo around her peaceful face. One of her hands was hugging the comforter to her chest. She looked gorgeous.

I reluctantly stood, stepping into the shower. I was running late, so unfortunately I had to take one of my semi-famous five minute showers.

I had no time to style my hair to its usual perfection, so I decided to let it just dry, woman still dug it.

Frankly, as long as it was soft and she could pull at it when we made out, Jackie didn't care. She had some odd hair fetish, she love running her hand through my hair, and all her friends' hair.

But what I loved the most was the fact that her hair was layered, and her bangs had a little side-sweep going on. She would often run her hand through her own hair, pushing it all back, and then pull it forward a bit. Her hair would get a _lot_ of volume. It was, sexy, I can call it.

Anyways, I remember getting out of the shower and slipping on a pair of boxers before putting on my dark wash jeans. I buttoned up a white collared shirt. Slipped on a pair of converse, and I headed out the door. Being an agent for the government didn't require suits like most shows portrayed. As long as we got the job done, it didn't matter.

I slipped my pistol into its respective holder, and grabbed my keys.

Before leaving, I decided to go back into the bedroom.

Jackie, was half asleep, and looked up at me with an exhausted look in her eye.

I leaned down and pressed my lips to hers, and she reacted by trying to pull me down to her.

"Sorry, I've got to go to work." I sighed.

"Yeah," she sighed as well, "I've got to go run some errands. I'll try to be back later."

"Alright," I smiled at her before heading out the door and sliding into my black '09 Camaro.

I glanced at Jackie's black Ford Mustang. She had it customized with cobalt blue racing stripes down the middle. On the driver's side door, I could barely make out the words that read "Nothing Personal". It was one of her favorite lines.

I smiled to myself as I pulled out of the drive way and drove into downtown Miami. It could be a pretty sight, if you knew where to go. If you were smack down in the middle of the city, all you smelled was the chemical compounds off of cars, but as you headed down towards the beach, the smell began to mix with the fresh, salt water smell, until all you could smell was the beach.

I had smiled at the thought of the beach; I wanted to take Jackie now that we were coming out of a rare, cold winter.

I pushed the thought to the back of my mind for the moment, and found a spot to park in a parking garage. I had to walk a few blocks to head into my office where my best friends were already working the day away.

Alex, Rian, and Zack greeted me as I plopped down on my swivel chair, refraining from the need to spin.

I immediately got to work, comparing files from a case we were currently working on.

A lot of people were disappearing. Did we know why? No, we didn't.

"Zayda's doing great. I'm so glad she isn't encased in her shy manner anymore." I heard Alex laugh softly.

"Well, I never had that problem with Xania. She's outgoing. It's nice." I could make out the smile in Zack's voice.

I rolled myself out into the opening to join into the conversation.

"You want a problem? Jackie. That girl is so cocky."

"We know, we're glad we found someone cockier than you." Alex smirked.

"We already had, it was you." I rolled my eyes with a laugh.

"True, but still, I'm sure it's torturous to have a dominant chick." Rian joined in.

"Actually, she's only dominant with everything else." I smirked.

"She is?" Zack raised a brow questioningly.

I nodded.

They shrugged.

"Never expected it." Alex mumbled.

"I know you didn't, neither did I."

We laughed.

Our boss, a woman in her mid-fifties, strolled in. She was a short woman, with mocha colored skin. Let me tell you, you probably can't find a woman as scary as her.

We immediately stood and saluted her.

"Boys, what are we doing here?" Marie smiled sweetly.

"Getting back to work." Rian stated.

"Good, we've got a lead." She stated and instructed us to follow her.

She led us to a lab a floor down where some of our anthropologists worked.

"You see, the victim we found recently, managed to know what was going on before he was murdered." She sighed. "He managed to get a scratch on one person, and pull the hair of another."

"There are two killers?" Alex questioned.

"Possibly three." Marie's face was somber. "These are our suspects.

She typed in a few commands into the pictures and three images loaded up.

I froze.

There, in the monitor before me, were three twenty year old girls. One of them, I loved deeply, and wanted to propose to . . .

There, in the monitor before me, was Xania, Zayda, and Jackie.


	5. Chapter 5

I was growing irritated with Jackie's impatient foot tapping. That girl needed a hobby. Oh, wait, she did, drumming.

"Drummers," I rolled my eyes with a sigh.

Jackie smiled and bit my earlobe, "You love me." she breathed teasingly.

I was straight, but Jesus, she teased well.

I turned and watched the pained look Jack was giving Jackie.

"Your boyfriend didn't like that." I gave Jackie a sideways glance.

She looked to Jack, and shrugged slightly, "I doubt he even considers me his girlfriend. I'm too much a witch with a b." Jackie's voice was sing-song-y.

I rolled my eyes. "Someone's very childish."

Jackie's shoulders dropped. "I'm bored. We never got anyone today."

"I know, I was kind of there." I rolled my eyes again.

Jackie's fair hair was trailing to her mid back, and some how, it was looking messy. Jack may have grabbed at it to keep her from clawing his eyes out.

Jackie crouched next to Zack and slid a finger under his chin, guiding his face to hers. "You scratched his cheek. You basically grated it against that wall."

I strolled over to examine his cheek myself. She was right.

Zack's hair had grown longer, and puffy. He had his little afro back, I adored it.

"I'm sorry, Zacky." I frowned.

He jerked his chin from Jackie's hand, and looked away, glaring furiously at the wall. I knew he wasn't that pissed off though, it was an act, mostly to protect his manhood.

I used my hands to fluff up his afro teasingly.

His mouth was still gagged, but I could make out the curses. He looked at me out of the corner of his eyes and I smiled at him. He tore his eyes away from me and glared down at his shoes.

Jackie was straddling Jack, running her hand through his hair.

Zayda leaned against the door frame. "We need to head up to our rooms and keep an eye on the boys, until they've figured out what to do with them."

I glanced at Zack, and then at Jackie who was already pulling Jack to his feet. The three of them had their hands handcuffed in front of their bodies, so we could see them. Their legs were unbounded for the moment being, so they could walk, and their mouths were still gagged.

"How the hell are we supposed to sleep when we have to watch over them?" I turned to Zayda.

Jackie smirked and motioned to the handcuffs. "Simple," her smiled widened, "handcuff them to your bed. Their hands have to be separated; they're trained to undo handcuffs. Right, Jack." She glanced at him, and slid down the gag enough so he could speak.

"Yeah, I am, are you? I don't remember you getting out of the handcuffs when I had you cuffed to our bed. Remember? You couldn't really do much but it was the first time I saw you begging . . ."

Something flashed in Jackie's eyes, but her smile turned into something of the Cheshire cat. "Let's go." She practically dragged him to her room.

I looked back at Zack.

"Seriously, though. Boss expects us to watch them?"

"He said 'you brought them here, so you may as well be responsible.'" Zayda sighed.

"Fuck, the least we can hope is Rian doesn't come looking for them."

"You know he will."

"Yeah, I know." With a sigh, I grabbed Zack and pulled him up to his feet, "Come on." I pulled him to my own room.


	6. Chapter 6

I breathed in deeply, my grip on my rifle was ruthless. I thought the metal would crumble any moment.

I gave of the signal to my mates, and with one swift kick, the door I had been standing in front of splintered from it's hinges.

My instincts reacted quicker than my brain, my gun was leveled and shooting the guard with the quickest reaction speed square in the forehead.

I ducked under another guard so he can be taken by surprised by Xania.

I slid across the tile floor like I used to in my softball days to home base.

I heard the boom of a small compact grenade and I knew Zayda made it in.

I rolled to my feet and burst through the door to a bedroom.

I heard the squeaking of the bed springs before I saw.

The man I was half a heart beat from killing thrusting into a woman.

Before I decided it would be nice to throw up, I pulled the trigger, sending a nice sized bullet through the back of his throat.

The woman screamed, and I shrugged as Xania ran over and drove her knife into her naked chest.

Zayda threw a blanket over the newly deceased lovers and turned on her heels to leave the room.

Xania and I followed, making a hasty escape, the sirens could be heard several blocks down.

We didn't bother using an elevator, we flew down the steps, skipping four, maybe five steps at a time.

Being the typical show off I was, the last set of stairs I slid down the rail, using a metal bar I'd picked up on my way down to grind the railing and jump to the ground.

And as usual, I heard the, "Stop showing off, Christ, this is why I don't play Halo with you anymore." from Xania.

We made it to the our black '95 Mustang. I slid into the drivers seat, and sped away before Xania and Zayda barely got the doors shut.

I sped back to HQ where we'd get a "Great job" or "Nicely done, as always."

See, randomly killing people? Yeah, that's fun. Missions? Not so much.

This guy gave another guy a problem, and hired the company we "volunteer" for.

No one told us he'd be getting it on when we got there.

Sure, I've seen sex, I do it sometimes, it's how I get some of my victims, the cute ones at least. But seriously, it's kind of awkward killing a guy who's getting busy like that with another woman.

. . . Okay, I've had group sex, but still. It's different on a mission. I mean, personal killing is great because we just do it.

I parked the car next to the sidewalk and headed up the stairs of HQ. We liked stairs. They were safer.

Only a few minutes had passed before we were on the sixth floor and walking back to our live in rooms.

I opened my door to find Jack chewing on his gauze.

I sighed and strolled over, sliding the gauze down slightly.

"You know, chewing on it won't help, and frankly, you looked like an odd ball."

He stared up at me blankly.

I stared back, and hovering over him stirred something inside me.

I leaned down closer, I could feel his breath against my face, and the blank look turned into that of longing.

I lowered myself into a straddle as I pressed my lips to his. My hands slid up to caress his face and run them through his hair. I kissed him softly at first, before being over come by the feeling that grew inside me.

I remember why I stayed with him so long. No man could pleasure me like he could. No man could be so energetic and so kinky, yet be so sweet and loving like he was. And god, he could kiss. Now I recall why it had taken me so long to remember why I hooked up with him in the first place. I had intended to kill him. I hesitated to kill him. I hesitated now. I wanted him _now_. Fuck the CEO. This was my moment with Jack.

I opened my mouth to his.

He didn't hesitate, I felt his tongue brush against my lips before entering my mouth and finding my own tongue. Both of us fighting for dominance, neither winning, both enjoying the ride.

I slid my hands down to the bindings keeping Jack's hands from roaming my body, and pulled back to look at him. "Promise me you won't leave me."

"Last time I check, you left me." He gave a sad smile.

"I may be regretting it." I leaned back down towards him to pick up another long kiss.

I undid his the leather straps that were binding his arms together.

When they were off, his hands immediately went to my hips. I was anticipating him throwing me off and making a break for it, but instead he pulled me closer, pulling me down on the growing bulge in his jeans.

I let out a soft moan for a bit of a tease as I snaked my hands underneath his shirt.

His palms rough from fighting sent chills throughout my skin as they roamed under my own shirt, one hand finding it's way to my more sensitive skin. This time, I moaned an authentic moan.

Jack definitely knew his way around a girl.

A knock on the door caused me to jump up and tug my shirt down. I shot Jack an apologetic look as I reached for the door.

Jack was kind enough to tuck his arms behind his back as if his bindings were still on.

"Dinner." Phoenix smiled.

I glanced at her as I began to shut the door again, "Not hungry, I'm going to go to sleep."

My gaze returned to Jack, who had made it to my bed.

The smirk he had on his face told me I may just have one of the best nights of my life.


	7. Chapter 7

I watched Zayda change, she didn't blush at stripping in front of me anymore. Besides, it was her room, I was the one in an unfamiliar environment.

She ran a brush through her hair which naturally had a habit of frizzing up. I watched her every movement. Her body was so in sync with everything. She froze when she saw my reflection staring at her.

"What?" She asked.

I narrowed my eyes in annoyance, mumbling through the gauze.

She sighed and made her way over to me, un-tightening it until it fell loose around my neck.

"Why'd you leave?" I blurted out.

She gazed at me. "You would have killed me when you got home. At that point in time you were to stricken with grief. Now you hesitate, but then you would have shot the gun. You were so angry and so sad . . ."

"I . . ." I paused, realizing she was right, I may have. "I don't care. I'm here now. Why don't you just kill me? I've been suffering. Why'd you say yes if you weren't going to marry me. Why do you do this to people? Why do you do this to yourself?"

She looked down at her feet before sitting down next to me.

"I haven't killed you because I never meant to . . . I never meant to fall for you. I only stay with my, erm, victims a night or so before I kill them. You, you swayed me off my feet in a way that I didn't think possible . . ." She looked up at me. "What were your other questions?"

"Why did you say you'd marry me?" I studied her for any signs of lying.

"Because I wanted to. Alex, I love you. But my boss snapped me back into reality. What was I to do? I didn't think the police had that much on us. But our CEO informed us either we left, or he would turn us in the cops. Either that, or he would kill us himself. His killing is slow and torturing. He would rape us. He's not a person I want to have sex with, Alex."

"Why do you do this to people?"

She stared at her knees. "I get some sort of sick, demented pleasure out of it, I guess. With Jackie and Xania it can be worse."

"Zayda, I love you. You don't understand. I hesitate to kill you for reasons that are beyond my comprehension. I need you in my life. If we can get out of this. I want to run away with you. I want to be the hand that lifts your veil. Please, help Jack, Zack and I escape. Jackie, Xania, and you can escape to a different country. Please?" I stared up at her pleading with my eyes.

"I can't talk to you about that right now." she wiped her teary eyes. "I have to go." she jumped up and stumbled out of the room.

I slumped against the wall. I needed her . . .


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry, I think it's been a while. I had to pick up where I left off, and due to my other FanFictions, this was a random-ish chapter with some drama. R/R my Drumtastic kiddies. :D**

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><p>Xania was running her hands along my abs. Twirling my hair around her finger. I was staring blankly at the wall ahead of me. She was murmuring in my ear how much she missed me. How much she loved me. But I was ignoring her. If I didn't, she have me under her sick and twisted little spell. I loved her to death, but she was a monster.<p>

But it was so hard to kiss her. Her lips brushing against my skin. Her fingertips causing static along my flesh. I was tempted to just take her in.

"Oh, come on Zack." she mumbled in my ear, the way she said my name, it caused me to shiver. "You know you can't be that upset. You came back. You could have given up the case to find me . . ."

"Xania, you're a murderer." I spat at her.

"Don't take it too harshly. I never killed you." she cooed.

My eyes went slitty as I turned to look at her. "You planned to."

"But I couldn't bring myself to do it." she yelled as she pushed herself up from the bed. "Why the hell do you think you're still alive." she pointed an accusing finger at me. "I cared about you too much to kill you off. Like all the other scum I've ever touched. Don't come here blaming me for being a murderer. I left you alone because I love you. I left you that day because I gave a damn. It was either that, or my ass be turned into the police, or worse. Or _even worse_. You being killed by my boss instead! _Do you want that for any of us?_"

My head dropped. "No." I mumbled. I didn't want her dead. I truly didn't. I really did love her too. What I wasn't in love with was her _occupation_.

"Come on." she yanked me out of the bed, my hands tied in my front.

She pulled me into Zayda's room, which was holding Alex captive. Zayda wasn't there. "Alex, Jack and you are going to be leaving. Of to another country, I don't care. You're going to be safe. I'll make damn sure of it."

Zayda appeared in the door way, leaning against the door frame. "We should go with them . . . We can escape. Jackie won't mind . . . We can go to Italy, or Australia, or Russia. Run away. With them. We can get away from our boss . . ."

I examined Xania. The idea sparked something inside her. She was tempted. She utterly wanted to say yes and just go with it. But something else took over. Fear.

"Are you fucking mad? That would get us killed!" her voice was a loud whisper.

"Xania, none of us are safe in this country. If they _escape_. The CEO will be after them in a heart beat. And he'll get them killed! If we escape, he'll have snipers half as good as Jackie going after us. And Jackie's one of the best snipers this world has at the moment." Zayda fiddled with her fingers, a worried look etched into her features.

"Exactly, so we should stay here, and let them-"

"_They would need us for protection!_ No matter how good they are, they need us, Xania. Don't you understand!" Zayda snapped.

Xania sighed, lost in thought for a moment.

"Tell Jack and Jackie . . . We'll make our move tonight . . ."


	9. Chapter 9

"What the _hell_ do you mean we're escaping?" Jack held back a scantily dressed Jackie. She was wearing faded blue jeans, and a bra, nothing more, nothing less.

I looked to Xania but she waved me on. "You're idea."

"Jackie, what do you want most in this world?" I looked up at her, staring into her deep, olive green eyes. They were changing, it was stormy outside. The had a dab of gray mixing into them.

She froze, in her mind I knew a picture of Jack's face formed. She met my gaze, "Zay, you know what I want . . ."

"Then? With this plan we can get that!" my voice was hushed.

"We could travel, and not just the sleazy clubs . . . Italy, Greece, Australia, Japan, Germany, Russia, England . . ." Xania offered.

Jack pulled the figure close to his body. He leaned his head down slightly and nuzzled the hollow of her neck.

"When are we leaving . . .?" she stumbled over her words as she pulled herself from Jack's arms and pulled on a Guns 'n' Roses shirt over her head. It was a baseball T and it fitted her D-cup quite nicely.

Silence.

Jackie's eyes met mine, and then Xania's, and I looked to Xania. "3 A.M. sharp. Security's weakest then. It's usually when the guards change shifts." we spoke simultaneously.

Jackie's eyes went to her gun. Her beloved rifle. When her eyes met mine again, we came to a silent mutual agreement. Leave it. Leave as much stuff as we could. Make them think we were out on a killing spree for as long as we could. We'd take our private money stash. We could only use cash. They'd trace us with our credit cards. We had a large sum of money, we'd be able to buy food, tickets, and clothes.

"Our credit cards are kept un-tracked by the government. Us being special agents and all." Jack added.

"Alright. We need to get ready though. ASAP. We're leaving at 3 A.M. Sharp, guys and gals. Sharp." Xania sighed as she left the room, retreating back to hers to get Zack.

It was nearing midnight now. We'd have to get ready.

"What are we going to say about taking them out?" I asked Jackie.

She pressed her chest up to Jack's, looking at me from under her side-swept bangs, reminding me of some Victoria Secret vixen on a poster I saw once. "Some guys like a threesome." she smiled seductively.

"Good idea." I smiled.

The girl was smart, I'd give her that. And a great sharp shot.

"I'm going to shower, and get ready. I'll get some stuff we absolutely need. Alright?" Jackie looked me in the eye.

"Yes, ma'am." I smiled before retreating into my own room.

Alex was seated on my bed, un-cuffed, smiling at me.

"Help me get ready, we're going to be leaving in three hours." I informed him.

"Get that bag over there, and I'll tell you what to put in it while I get dressed." I sighed.

I stripped down to nothing. Slipping on panties and a bra. Black lace.

I flipped through my closet, choosing black skinny jeans, and a black lace tank top. I chose a red plaid shirt to hang open over the tank top.

As I put them on, I gave Alex the list.

"Under the bed, there's a wad of cash, get it. Let's see, the heart necklace on the vanity. The one you gave me. Band bracelets. My guitar picks. My hair bow. And whatever else you want me to take."

"Take this," he looked up at me as I turned. He held up a silver band with a small, yet elegant diamond on it.

"I wanted to marry you . . . I got this before you left." he explained.

"Alex," I breathed, "It's beautiful."

He slipped it on my finger. "So, will you marry me?"

"Yes." I kissed him softly.

I pulled away, "We have to get you ready," I sighed as I tied my shoes.

"I'll be fine, as long as you're with me." he grinned at me, and my heart fluttered.

"Always." I agreed.


	10. Chapter 10

My room became crowded at about ten till three. Three guys, three girls. We were all making sure we had the stuff we needed. Making sure we had the least amount of stuff to make it look normal as we left.

The room was heavy with panic, fear, hesitation, and something else . . . excitement? Yeah, that was it. We were excited. We did want to leave and be with guys we cared for. But we were just so worried we were going to get killed. We were so scared . . .

I glanced at myself in the mirror. Black, skin-tight jeans tucked into knee high boots. I was wearing a blue button-up. It was Jack's old shirt. The shirt was loose, a few buttons were open, slightly revealing a black lacy bra. Jack was admiring my figure from the other side of the room. I could see his reflection. He apparently liked what he saw.

Xania was content in Zack's arms, but we were getting restless.

Two minutes on the clock. We had to get out of there. We'd take my Mustang. Ditch the beloved thing at the airport. Where it'd get towed for being there for a prolonged time. Internally, I cringed.

With a sigh, I turned and grabbed my book bag, black and gray checkered. I slipped it on my back, it's contents were mostly things Jack had given me, a few CD's, my drum sticks, and a collection of about eight or nine notebooks that I wrote the dreams I had. I had kept those notebooks since I was fifteen. I'd be needing a new one soon.

"Get ready." I spoke, making my way towards the door.

When the clock struck three, we made our way down the hall. I was casually pulling Jack by the wrist. Giggling and occasionally stopping to kiss his neck softly. Just in case we were caught. We weren't.

Down the stairs we went. As fast as we could. There were no cameras there. Into the parking garage where we piled into my car. Jack and I in front. Zay, Xani, Zack, and Alex squeezed in the back.

"Why are you girls leaving this late?" the guard at his post at the entrance questioned.

"We're going to have a little fun, Mark." I smirked as he peered into the car. Jack added effect by sliding his hand up my leg, slipping his hand in between my thighs with a lusty look in his features.

Mark was flat out staring at my chest when Jack squeezed my thigh, rubbing slowly. I took the excuse to moan and turn away from Mark.

"Have fun . . ." he mumbled as he went back to his station.

I sighed in relief, revving the engine as I drove out of there.

Our plan was to head to a hotel first, pay with our "company credit cards" and leave our cellphones there.

Zayda picked out a sleazy hotel and swiped our card, paying for three full nights at this place. Swiftly, leaving Alex, Zack, and Jack in the lobby, we ran up the stairs and unlocked the room we rented. We dropped out phones there, and threw around some clothes. We dropped pairs of heels around locked the door again, meeting the boys in the lobby.

In hushed tones, we all faced each other, guys vs. girls. "Where to?" the guys asked.

We all looked each other in the eye, "Italy first. Spain next. Germany. England. Australia. Russia. On and on." I sighed slightly.

"Italy it is, _signorina._" Jack kissed my lips softly as we headed out to the Mustang, Zayda buying tickets to the first plane to Italy on Alex's phone. Which was leaving at about 11 P.M.

Just our luck.


	11. Chapter 11

We had slept in the hotel. Waking up bright and early so we could go to the mall and buy clothes. We were all stocking up on jeans and shirts. Shoes for running, mostly converse. Keeping it simple.

We had finished the bulk of our shopping on the guy's cards. They were also leaving an email for Rian explaining the situation. I clung to Zack's arm, I think he was happier now that I wasn't acting like such an utter bitch . . .

With a sigh I looked over to Jackie who was nuzzled in Jack's arms at a table in the food court. Alex and Phoenix were gazing adoringly into each others eyes. It was so sweet.

We got our bags after we ate a quick breakfast and headed to the airport. We had bought luggage bags, and we had packed them. So we were good to go for the most part.

Into the airport. We got our tickets scanned. Went through security. Thank God we left our weapons. We had our passports scanned and we boarded the plane as quickly as we could. It wasn't that long before we were seated and situated. I gripped Zack's hand, looking at him, searching his eyes for the bravery _I_ desperately needed.

And I found it. There in his eyes was a reassuring look that made me smile. A look that said "We can do this. You and I."

With a smile, I kissed him softly and curled up in my seat. I rested my head on his shoulder while he rubbed slow circles on my thigh. I shut my eyes to fall asleep, only to be engulfed my a dream. Not a normal dream . . . a dream walk.

I glanced around, looking for who was controlling my dream at the moment. Dream walking was something Phoenix, Jackie, and I learned as a kid. It was a quite interesting talent we had and we used it to communicate sometimes.

My visitor had decorated the dream scene like a small garden. It was quite beautiful, if you asked me. A rainbow of different colored flowers were dotted along the greenery of the leaves. Small little winged creatures of a different assortment of colors roamed the air, I personally liked to call them flutterbies. That was the original name butterflies had.

"Xania." a soft voice spoke. It wasn't one I recognized immediately. I looked to my left. Nothing. My right. I saw male figure, short cut hair, muscular.

Rian.

"What the fuck are you doing here? How the hell do you know how to dream walk?" my body went frigid.

"The government asks us if we want to learn certain techniques. It helps us get to criminals sometimes. So, sweetheart, why don't you tell me where my best friends." his eyes were slits, his glare was icy.

I looked away, "Is there anyone else in the dream?"

"Nope. Just me."

I turned my body to face him. "We're leaving the country. Zack and I are running away from the company. So is Alex, Jack, Phoenix, and Jackie."

His eyes widened, before narrowing again, "How do I know you're not lying to me? You've proved yourself to be a good liar, sweetheart."

My shoulders slumped and I opened myself up, letting the emotions and thoughts flow into the dream. In this world, emotions and thoughts were energy, anyone could see or hear them if they were able to dream walk.

"You really do love him, huh? So I guess you aren't such a cold hearted bitch?" Rian's lips twitched up into a faint smile.

"I really do." I sighed. "For all of our safety, we're leaving, we're going to be going from country to country." I walked over to him, and placed my hands on his shoulders, looking up at him with such a pleading look, I knew something tugged at his heartstrings. "Please bring the company back, otherwise none of us will be able to settle down. You know Jack! Jack wants kids, he'd never be able to! And Alex, he wants to marry Phoenix! He proposed . . . Zack, well Zack doesn't quite know yet. I was a horrible person to him . . ." My eyes dropped.

Rian shrugged my hands off, and placed his on my shoulders. "Leave it to me, Xani. Keep in touch, tell all the girls to keep in touch, boys too. Xani, you and I both know that once the company finds out about the treason, they will not only go after you, they'll move their position, so you need to elaborate with us. All of you. Jackie's been in the company the longest? She'll help with their strategies."

I nodded quickly.

"Good bye, Rian."

"Later, Xania. Take care of Zack."

And with that, he was gone . . .


	12. Chapter 12

The plane trip was actually much shorter than I expected, landing in Florence, Italy at around 5 P.M. I must admit, the city was quite beautiful. Historic buildings dotting the landscape, and I watched Jackie stare at some of them in awe. Florence was about one of the only places that remained untouched by modernization, and I must admit, it was for the better.

We got off the plane and looked for somewhere to stay. Usually families let tourists stay in their homes. Very few tourists actually did though, settling with the hotels. I had been here before, and I stayed in a home. It actually gave Italy more taste, more flavor to the trip. Enjoying how people lived in their homes.

. . . And you sometimes got families with young daughters that served you. But this was back in my younger days.

With my mind back on track, Jackie and I found a place to stay while the rest of our little group found something to eat. We were going to do as much exploring of the places we went to before we had to pack up and leave. We had to get ourselves in a city for about a day or two before we left. We'd go to a few cities in Italy, a few in the next country, on and on. We wouldn't be paying for plane tickets, because we'd run out of money too quickly. We'd be taking cars and such to different places for cheaper.

"_Buon giorno_." A woman with brown hair streaked with gray pulled into a tight pony tail greeted.

"Hello," Jackie greeted in fluent Italian. "Is there any way five friends and I may stay in your home for about a day or two?"

"Yes, yes! That would be wonderful." The woman needed no more persuading when Jackie placed a wad of Euros in her wrinkled hands.

"_Signora_, we would like to thank you." I kissed her cheek gently, smiling brightly at her, speaking in fluent Italian as well.

"If you hadn't spoken, I would have taken you for a hooligan!" she teased, causing Jackie to have to smother a bubble of laughter.

"We'll be good, _signora_, I promise." Jackie smiled politely as she took her bags into a room the woman led her to.

"Here we are, dear. Your friends will have the two other rooms. Stay as long as you'd like!" The woman spoke as she stuffed the wad into her blouse.

I couldn't help but smile.

When the woman left, Jackie turned to me.

"So we're in Florence . . . in an Italian home . . . alone." I smiled invitingly.

"Jack, Zayda and Xania will be back anytime with the food, and then we'll go eat." Jackie shook her head with a smirk.

"Quicky?" I quirked a brow.

"Jack," she cooed, but I pulled her wrist, pulling her body flushed to mine.

I placed one hand on her lower back, the other pulling her chin up so her lips were half an inch from mine.

I used the hand on her chin to caress her cheek and brush aside her hair. She gazed lovingly into my eyes and begged me with her eyes to kiss her.

And I did.

It was slow and soft at first, but soon I felt her lips push hard into mine. Fierceness she was seeking right now. She didn't want soft and slow right now. She was still so eager to pick up where we left off. Not start all over. It wasn't what she needed right now.

"We brought food!" Zayda smiled as she threw open the door.

"Why is it that you always interrupt?" Jackie asked with a smile.

"I have senses for when you two are about to have children. Don't be a fool, cover your tool." Zayda grinned, laughing at her own personal joke.

"I'll remember that when you and Alex try to get it on." Jackie quirked a brow, "Because I can definitely keep Alex from letting little Gaskarth babies from running about."

Zayda's face dropped. "Ha, ha." She rolled her eyes and left into her own room.

"Peace and –"

"Hey, we have food; don't go all anorexic on us!" Xania swept into the room.

I sighed heavily.

Jacky grinned up at me, "Let's go eat."


	13. Chapter 13

**This one goes out to Kristi (Zayda) wompwompkristi on Twitter. :3**

* * *

><p>There were only a few things I was registering into my mind at this very moment. One; the slow splish-splash of the water around the gondola, and two; how beautiful Zayda looked in the dark lit canals. The gondola was steadily moving its way down the canal and Zayda leaned over and kissed me softly.<p>

I smiled and pulled her into my lap, nuzzling the curve of her neck.

"Alex," she breathed.

I shushed her softly and squeezed her back to my chest. Kissing her neck lightly, I caused her shiver at my touch.

"Enjoy the moment; it's all we have right now. No Jack, no Jackie, no Xania, no Zack. We're all alone." I breathed softly against her ear before I bit her earlobe softly.

A blush crept along her cheeks as I continued.

Leaving kisses and nibbles along her ear, neck, and shoulder. My hand slowly slid up and down along the side of her thigh.

"Alex," she moaned softly and peaked back at me.

"Yes?" I gave her one of my signature smirks before I went back to kissing and sucking on her neck.

"Let's go back to our rooms . . ." she offered.

"But that wouldn't be as much fun. You wouldn't be able to say you had sex with Alex Gaskarth on a gondola." I teased.

She glanced around. "We can't have sex on a gondola _anyways_." She fiddled with her fingers, a nervous habit of hers.

"Zayda." I purred, causing a groan to escape her.

"Don't say my name like that. Alex, really. Let's go back." She looked up at me pleadingly.

"Alright, Zay." I smiled at her as we neared a dock.

Off we got and I led Zayda back through the city, the dull orange lights shining on her heart shaped face.

"I can't believe I'm going to be marrying such a beautiful girl."

"Oh?" Zayda looked towards me. "You're marrying Xania?"

I sighed, "No, I'm marrying you. Because, Zayda, you're beautiful." I pressed my lips to hers.

She smiled and pulled me along, finding out room in a small apartment.

She sat down on the edge of the bed as I stripped off my white button up. I could tell she was admiring my body from far, and that only put a triumphant smirk on my face.

"What?" I teased.

"Get over here." She ordered.

I faked a yawn and a stretch. "I will, only because I'm so tired." I crawled into bed and laid on my side.

This time she groaned in exasperation.

"Alex, there is no way in hell you're going sleep after you worked me up like that."

"But I'm tired . . ." I faked a whine.

I turned on my back and she straddled me.

She pouted as she looked at me, her eyes begging, "Alex, please? You know you want to."

I felt myself excite at the thought of her begging in front of me, on her knees.

She smirked at my reaction, knowing she was damn well getting somewhere.

"You want to now." Zayda twirled a strand of her hair, playing it up with an innocent smirk.

I could only think about how innocent she would look and how much she would beg tied up to the bed, or to something.

My own mind was doing the work. It was her damn plan. She was a mental terrorist, I swear.

"Alex," she purred.

"Don't say my name like that . . ."

Oh how the tables have turned.

"Zay –"

"Zayda!" Jackie gasped as she practically threw herself into the room.

Zayda's head turned so fast, I swore she'd get whiplash. "I thought you were kidding!" she glared.

"No, no, no!" Jackie sucked in a gulp of air. "R-Rian says th-they're hot-t on our t-t-tail –"

"Jackie," Zayda get up off of me and stepped over to her, "Breath, you're dyslexia of the mouth is acting up." She tried to lighten the mood.

"The company's on our moves. They're moving faster than we expected. Rian says they're hot on our tail. We have to leave. Jumble up our plans. We need to get the _hell_ out of Italy." Jackie explained.

I shot Zayda a look and we came to a mutual agreement. Leave now, go to some country they wouldn't expect us to go to.

"Croatia?" Jackie offered.

"Sure." Zayda agreed.

I jumped out of the bed and quickly rushed to get our stuff together.


	14. Chapter 14

Jezerce. That was the place we were in. Some city very far from Venice. All I remember was waking up to Zayda and Jackie rushing into the room, scaring the hell out of Xania and I, as their speech was so rushed and jumbled up that we barely understood them until Alex came in and cleared things up for us. Jack was dead asleep. Somehow Jackie forgot to mention it to him first. She didn't bother, he was too tired from his and Jackie's experience the prior night.

So we bought plane tickets with cash and now we were in Croatia.

Xania was clinging to me. She allowed herself to open up to me. It was different, but I still loved her. It was nicer, actually. She was like an open book, but the lettering was foreign and you couldn't comprehend. An open book is an open book none-the-less.

We were going to be staying in an apartment here for seven days. Which involved paying these people roughly seven hundred Euros. It was the only place that could fit all six of us. Well, I wouldn't exactly say fit . . .

"What the hell do you mean there's a room with a twin sized bed? You want Jack and I to share a bed? Yeah, that's smart. Jack and I both move around a lot in our sleep. The only reason I could share a twin size with Zay is because . . . well I don't know why." Jackie raged.

"Probably because I slept towards the wall, making it impossible for you to push me off." Zayda offered.

"Jack sleeps like he's having a fucking slow motion seizure in his sleep." Jackie added.

Jack just shrugged to the side. "We can sleep together, just not on a twin sized bed. We'd both end up on the floor."

"Alex and I aren't going to sleep in a twin sized. I haven't had sex with Alex in a very long time, because we've honestly been getting interrupted so often." Zayda shot a glare towards Jackie.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Jackie hissed. "Maybe next time I'll let him fuck your brains out, and Boss'll do you like I did that one guy on our last mission." Her voice raising a level every couple of words.

Silence overwhelmed the room.

"Zack and I will stay in the room." Xania stated to break the silence. I swear, the tension had been so thick, you could have cut it with a knife.

Jackie rolled her eyes and pushed herself into one of the rooms, Jack close behind. I knew, though, the look in Jackie's eyes said she regretted what she had said.

Zayda on the other hand, looked like she was ready to start crying then and there, but Alex herded her into their own room.

"This is taking a toll." Xania sighed as she pulled me into our new room.

"I know, but we'll be safe soon." I mumbled as I examined the bed. Xania and I would have no problem sleeping on it, if we did, we'd put a bunch of blankets on the floor.

Xania crawled into bed and motioned me over.

She leaned back as I crawled over her. I kissed her softly, supporting myself on my arms as I nuzzled my face against her neck. Moving up slowly so I could bite her ear lobe. Her breath caught as a smile spread on her features.

"Zack," she murmured in my ear, her hands sliding over my toned chest.

"Yes, Xani?" I looked up at her shyly as I tugged at her shirt slightly.

She leaned up enough so she could strip the shirt off and toss it to the side, leaving her in an aqua laced bra.

I admired her features as I hovered over her. How I wanted her right now.

I leaned down and bit the soft flesh of her breasts before pulling back so Xania could lift my shirt over my head.

Xania pressed a kiss to my lips, soon I could feel my tongue dancing with hers. Her taste was exquisite.

"It's just you and me." Xania quirked a brow and smiled invitingly.

And yes, I took this invitation.


	15. Chapter 15

Jackie had apologized to me a few hours prior to her little tantrum. I accepted. It was a new day though. I was ready to get on with my life. We all had much more important things to worry about. Today, though, we were headed to Lake Plitvice. Probably one of the most gorgeous lakes you would have ever seen in your life time. In was a group of lakes, though. Connected by a series of waterfalls. Just beautiful.

Alex and I were going to one lake. Jackie and Jack to another. And so on. We all needed privacy. And I? Well, I needed Alex.

I missed him so much. I missed his touch. Yesterday I had been too busy sobbing to try anything. I was getting anxious, though. You couldn't go very long without a guy like Alex. And let's just say, foreplay on a plane bathroom doesn't cut it.

I slipped on a black bikini and slipped on my sandals while I waited for the rest of the group. I was sitting on Alex's lap on the sofa in our little apartment we were renting, when Jackie came out in a cobalt blue bikini and pushed herself onto the counter. Sitting so her legs were dangling over the edge. Jack came out in white bathing shorts with a bright blue Hawaiian pattern on it and kissed Jackie on the cheek.

We were waiting for Zack and Xania, chatting casually, as casually as two murderous girls and two government agents could.

Jack, apparently sensing the tension, found a slice of bread, and ripped a hole in the middle.

He ran into the living room and yelled, "Bread vision!" as he peered through the hole.

This caused an eruption of laughter from the three of us, and a Xania and Zack who just walked in.

"What the fuck, Jack?" Alex coughed out through laughter.

He just shrugged.

"Let's go," Jackie giggled as she pulled Jack through the door, the rest of us following.

We made it to the lake in under half an hour. Let me tell you, breathtaking. I gasped when I saw the lakes. The way the sun hit the water, the way the water sparkled and shimmered. Gorgeous. Exquisite. Beautiful.

We split off, and Alex and I found one lake, small yet home-y. It was different than the other lakes. I loved it.

Alex took the liberty of diving in. It made me think about how I knew Jackie would do some ridiculous flip or something into the water.

I couldn't help but laugh as I waded into the water.

Alex swam up to me and kissed me. His lips were wet with the fresh water. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer to me.

He smiled against my lips as I wrapped my legs around his waist. I kissed him, my eyes fluttering shut as he pulled his lips away and kissed down my chest softly. I couldn't help but moan as he kissed just under my bellybutton. It was a good spot, Alex knew that. He knew a lot about me. His fingertips left tingles on my skin as he trailed them all over my thighs, teasingly getting closer to where I wanted him, but always pulling away. Alex was a tease. Alex knew how to tease. Alex was damn good at it. Alex, Alex, Alex. That was all I could think about right now. I fisted my hands in his hair, before he came back up to kiss my lips.

"Alex," I moaned. "I want you."

"Where do you want me?" he smiled as he bit my earlobe, twirling the ring on my finger slowly.

I bit my lip hard and whimpered. "A lot of places."

"I think that can be arranged." He smirked as he pulled me towards a waterfall. I could feel the bulge under his swim trunks growing between my legs. It only made me think of how much I desperately _needed_ to feel him right now.

Fuck sex on the beach. Sex behind a waterfall sounded so much hotter right now.

There was a small cavern behind the waterfall. Just our luck. Alex laid me down on the rocks, it was smoother than I expected.

"Alex," I groaned as I looked up at him pleadingly.

Before I realized, my bikini top was gone, and bikini bottom was being slid down. Alex soon lost his trunks, and I was in for a world of pleasure.


	16. Chapter 16

I twisted to fit the mold Jack was in. I stared up at him, a smile plastered on my face. My body was still buzzing pleasantly. He was quite the lover. Better than anything I've ever had. I could still feel Jack's flesh against my naked body. I slowly nuzzled his neck as I clung to him. He held me as he sat on a rock on more shallow water. I shut my eyes as our joined heartbeats made a soft rhythm. Jack was twirling a strand of my damp hair, and murmuring softly in my ear.

"Jacqueline?"

I pulled back to look at Jack, he never really used my full name before.

"Hmm?" I quirked a brow at him.

"Jacqueline Sapphire Daniels." he spoke like he was rolling the words around on his tongue.

"Yes?" I questioned.

"I think I like Jacqueline Sapphire Barakat more . . ." he looked down at me, his eyes meeting mine.

My eyes widened at this. Was he joking or . . . did he just . . . ?

"Jackie?" Jack waved his hand in front of my face.

"I . . . uhm . . ." I spaced out, lost in thought.

"Jackie." Jack kissed me. "Will you marry me?"

I lifted myself off of Jack's lap and splashed myself with water. "Okay . . . I'm not dreaming. Fuck, I kind of wish I was. Because then we wouldn't be in this fucked up mess. And we wouldn't be on the run, and we'd be able to settle down, and-"

Jack cut me off by pressing his lips to mine. "Jackie . . . calm down. Please? We will be safe soon. Just tell me, will you marry me?"

"Jack!" I stared at him.

"What?" his eyes were filled with worry, he was dreading a certain answer.

"I'll marry you," his eyes filled with joy, "But how do you know we'll make it through this?" I found my self shaking. I was scared. Boss would do a lot of things to us. Not a lot of them . . . none of them would be pretty.

He pulled me into a strong embrace, "Jackie . . ." he murmured in my ear. "I'll keep you safe. I'll make sure we'll get through this." he nuzzled my flesh and pressed kisses to the sensitive skin of my collarbone.

When I didn't speak, Jack kissed my lips gently.

"Come on, let's go." he pulled me out of the water, he planned to lead me somewhere.

* * *

><p>I was slightly dazed, my body radiating with pleasure at the moment, Jack giving a goofy smile from behind. I had a towel wrapped around my body as we made our way back into the apartment.<p>

I'll be fair, my reaction time was horribly slow at the moment, so when Jack and I arrived to the apartment first, the others still at the lake, and someone grabbed me as I walked into the living room, I couldn't react as easily.

I was quickly snapped into reality, though.

"Get the fuck off me!" I threw a punch towards the closest one. A guy with short brown hair I remembered working with back in the day.

"Keep her down."

"Hey, lay off her!" Jack threw himself into the fight.

A fight of about seven people. Kicks were met with legs and chests. Punches met with faces and guts. It was a tangle of bodies, and not the good kind.

Our lack of practice and their sheer numbers had Jack and I held back in no time.

I still squirmed, I wasn't going to let these _assholes_ get any of my friends.

But it came to a point where they decided to take me and leave him. They'd use me for leverage to get Zayda and Xania.

As a gag was placed in my mouth, I prayed to god they remembered our "Pirates Code" I suggested when we first started. I hoped they'd just leave me behind and get back to their lives.

I hoped.

They tied Jack to something and proceeded throwing me into a car, they apparently weren't going to care to dress me in something more than a skimpy bathing suit. Hell, if anything, they'd just take it off and have their way.

I screamed and shrieked through the gag, but the one guy that I had worked with before, Mathew informed me if I didn't "shut the fuck up", he'd pull out his little friend the knife, and make me a mute.

Since the idea of having no tongue was unappealing, I decided to do what I was told. To an extent.

I thought for a second, maybe if the company let me fall asleep . . . I could communicate.


	17. Chapter 17

"Jack?" Alex stared at the figure thrashing against the rope that was binding him.

Zack was the one who reacted, undoing the rope, and taking Jack's gag out of his mouth.

"Jackie!" he sucked in a shocking amount of air, and proceeded to go into a coughing fit.

"What do you mean Jackie? Where is she?" Zayda questioned, her gray eyes wide.

"They took her. Th-th-they were here. They have J-Jackie." Jack made a poor attempt to calm down. "There was too many of them. I couldn't fight them off. They restrained her too quickly, she couldn't fight them off. I-I-I couldn't help her. I fucked up my promise in the course of half an hour. I swore to her I'd keep her safe. I'd make sure we'd get through this. I'm such a fucking idiot." Jack buried his face in his hands.

"They're going to be taking her back to the States. We can track them through dream walking . . . We'll team up with the government to save her. We will, Jack." I made an attempt to comfort him.

"And if they kill her?" his eyes raged.

"They won't kill her," I spoke calmly. "They need her to get to us. If they get us, then they'll kill us all."

Jack slumped against the wall and for the first time ever I saw him crying. No, not crying, sobbing, bawling.

I wanted to curl up in Zack's arms, but that wouldn't be fair for Jack. Besides, we needed to start packing. Just because they weren't going to kill Jackie, doesn't mean they weren't going to do a whole lot of other stuff.

Up the stairs I went to pack my bag. The rest of the group followed, Jack stayed.

Alex took the liberty of packing Jack's stuff. Zayda packed Jackie's. One thing, we were all sure of. She was going to need her clothes because we were going to get her out of this situation.

Zayda bought plane tickets for Miami, and we manage to get Jack to the car. Jack looked lifeless now. He was basically moping. I guess I'd be moping too if someone were to take Zack, threatening his life. Threatening to take the one thing I love from me.

We were on the first plane out of Croatia as soon as possible. I decided to try to connect to Rian in a dream. That's what we needed right now.

I fell asleep in the comfort of Zack's arms.

* * *

><p>I easily entered the dream with Rian. But there was someone else. Someone else's energy that I knew by heart.<p>

"Jackie!" I hugged the girl tight.

"Xania." Jackie breathed.

Rian looked between the two of us.

"Has she told you yet?" I looked towards him.

He nodded. "We know where they're taking her. We have our forces surrounding the place. They have no idea we've got them surrounded. We're just waiting for them to get her in there."

"Wait for us, too. We'll be there in half a day, or so. Got it?" I examined Rian.

"Fine, but you do realize as soon as we get her safe and bring the company down, they're going to have you girls tried."

"We'll argue that we've been brain washed. We had no ideas the affect of what we were doing. The company explained to us that they were a secret government society, and they're using our skills to kill people who are threatening our beautiful government."

Rian tilted his head for a moment. "That could work. But I just thought I'd warn you."

I nodded.

Jackie winced off to the side.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Let's just say I'm going to have a lot of cuts when I wake up."

"Who's the one doing it? I want to slit his throat and watch him bleed."

Jackie met my gaze with a blank look, she was fading out of the dream because of the pain. "Mathew," she whimpered.

Before I could utter another word she was gone.

"Damn it!" I sighed.

Rian looked at me. "How's Jack holding up?"

"Shitty." I shrugged. "Just give us a day. We'll be there to kill of those fuckers." and with that, I ended the dream.


	18. Chapter 18

I stared past everyone, walking where they led me, only seemingly looking at them. I probably looked about as great as I felt. Alex kept attempting to say reassuring things, but I shrugged them off. Nothing would be okay until I had Jackie in my arms once more. I have already lost her once, I _am not_ going to lose her again.

It was late at night when we got to our special forces offices. Marie was there waiting.

"There better be a good damn reason for waking me up." Marie sighed heavily. Then she looked at the group, "Never mind the reason, what I want to know is why the hell do I have three agents who have been missing for god knows how long, and two criminals? Rian?" she turned to him.

"Ex criminals . . . They're helping us bring down the company that . . . brainwashed them into thinking they were a government corporation." Rian explained.

Marie raised an eyebrow, "You think that'll hold up in court?"

Rian pursed his lips before nodding, "Yes, yes I do."

"Good enough for me." she shrugged before turning.

"We're going to be invading the company, and rescuing one girl. Jackie Daniels, long range hot shot. Best this age has ever seen. Just about as good as Lyudmila Pavlichenko was back in her day." Rian explained.

Hearing Jackie's name made my heart drop to my feet, a lump in my throat grew as he described her features so the forces wouldn't kill her.

"If she's that good, the government might look to help her case and use her for something." Marie examined Zayda and Xania.

"Do you all have expertise in fights?"

"Yes, we do. We were taken by this company at the age of sixteen. We were trained for fighting, and forced to do yoga and stuff to keep ourselves cat like and graceful." Xania explained.

"We're twenty one now, and we've been running ops for this company since we were seventeen. We had no idea this company was using us as weapons of mass destruction." Zayda added.

Marie studied them, "What are your specialties?"

"Hand to hand." Xania shrugged.

"Explosives." Zayda nodded.

Marie met my eyes, a sympathetic look crossing her features before looking towards Zack and Alex, "Get these girls ready for invasion. We'll need them." Marie turned back to me. "Jack, try to pull it together. Get your rifle, and get to work. Welcome back." and with that, she left.

* * *

><p>It wasn't long before our forces were placed and ready to go, we knew Jackie was in the building. That much we found out. We knew what room she was in, we actually found a way to get in there first and get her out.<p>

If the company found out we were invading before we got to Jackie, Jackie would be a goner.

Alex squeezed my shoulder reassuringly.

I shrugged him off and met his gaze, "Let's do this." I gave a confidant smile and took my place.

Rian and Zack would go in first. Zack was to take down the guards in front of the room they were holding Jackie in, and Rian was to shoot the man that was holding Jackie down.

Alex, Zayda, Xania, and I were going to be taking on the guys who would run our way while the rest of the forces took the rest of the building.

With one sniper's quick hand motion, the chaos began.


	19. Chapter 19

Rian and Zack broke through the doors quickly getting their jobs done, the rest of us running in to cover them. Zack kicked down the door into the room Jackie was being held, and we were hit with the smell of blood and the sound of someone, most likely Jackie, retching.

Alarms were soon blaring throughout the building. Ringing in all of our ears. Shoes padding down the hall way towards us.

I leveled my rifle and started shooting guard after guard. When they got to close to be able to shoot, a physical fight broke out. Xania was the first to jump into that fight. Expertly throwing punches, side sweeping men to the floor. Whipping out her pistol to give a clean shot to the head.

Zayda struggled a bit, she couldn't set any explosives at the moment, it would be too dangerous. Zack carried an unconscious Jackie out of the room bridal style.

Jack twitched next to me as he threw a guy off of him. I knew he wanted to follow, but he chose to stay here and help.

Soon the hall was cleared and Zayda and Xania were leading us to the leader of this little company. With a swift kick, the door swung open, letting us into a huge office.

In the middle of the room leaning against a desk was an scrawny man in his fifties or sixties with his arms crossed.

"Ah, Zayda Ivanov and Xania Kerimov . . ." he examined them so closely, he made them look like science experiments. And to him? They damn well were.

"Abram Fedorov." Xania spit the name out.

"We're here to take you down, it's a damn shame we can't kill you." Zayda glared at the old man.

"You will never kill me, girls."

"We'll see about that." Xania hissed.

I paused for a moment. There was a slight chance that the girls were trafficked. Only used like this instead of prostitutes . . . But Jackie? She wasn't Russian . . . No, she was Swedish? Or Australian? Or both. I couldn't recall. Maybe they were trafficked . . .

"Abram Fedorov, you are under arrest for conspiracy for mass murder and twisting the minds of harmless woman." Jack stated as he hand cuffed the man.

"If I go to jail, they go down with me." the man's smile was cruel and sickening.

"Anything you say, can and will be used against you." I hissed as I gripped the man's shoulder and pushed him out of the office.

. . .

Abram was in holding, but at the moment we were in a hospital with Jack, Zack, Rian, Zayda, and Xania. We were waiting for them to let us into Jackie's hospital room, waiting for them to allow us to see how bad the situation is.

Jack didn't want to hear from Zack and Rian, he had said he wanted to see for himself.

A shy nurse stepped into the lobby, and looked at our little group. "I'm looking for a Jack Barakat?"

Jack jumped to his feet. "That's me."

She pulled him off to the side and whispered something to him. When she was done she walked back into the hallway and Jack walked back to us, dazed looking.

"They're saying Jackie when through a lot of trauma, they cut her up real badly. But for the most part she's okay. She's been sick to her stomach lately, though. They ran tests and . . ." he trailed off and his eyes met mine.

"What's wrong, Jack?" I leaned closer to my best friend.

A smile slowly spread along Jack's lips and he began to laugh, almost nervously.

"Jack." I snapped my fingers in front of his face.

"She and I are going to have a baby."

I felt my face drop. What if the kid wasn't his . . . ?

Zayda apparently knew what I was thinking and said, "We make all our, erm, victims wear condoms. Jack and Jackie have been having sex more often than our clients were. It's his kid."

"I'm going to have a kid." he kept repeating.

Another nurse entered, "You guys can see her now."


	20. Chapter 20

"I love how her hair looks just fuckin' fine." Zayda teased with a sad smile.

Both girls sat on their best friend's left side, while Jack fell to his knees on her right.

Jackie smile slightly. "My hair may look fine, but I am covered up in cuts now. And my mouth tastes like vomit, which is really fuckin' gross." she spoke before she tilted a cup of water back.

I watched Jackie twine her fingers with Jack's as Xania stood up and leaned back against me. Immediately I wrapped my arms around her.

"So who carried me out of that God forsaken room?" Jackie smiled from behind the cup.

"That would be me." I shrugged.

"And who shot the man who was yanking on my hair while I was retching?"

"That would be me." Rian raised his hand.

"Thank you." Jackie's smile was genuine, and we couldn't help but smile at her.

Jackie's eyes met Jack's, and the genuine look turned into a loving look.

"And who would be the father of my yet to be born child?"

Jack's smile grew and he pressed Jackie's palm against his cheek. "That would be me." He murmured softly.

I smiled down at Xania as I nuzzled her cheek softly.

A nurse entered again, "Jacqueline's free to leave. She'll be in a bit of pain because of the cuts." with that, the woman left again.

We all exited the room while Zayda helped Jackie get dressed to leave.

I kissed Xania softly, brushing some of her hair back.

Soon Jackie and Zayda were out, and we all headed out the front of the hospital together. I watched as Jack touched her carefully, handled her like she would break at the slightest touch. Which, to be fair, she honestly looked like she would.

We were waiting for the car when two cop cars pulled up.

"Jacqueline Daniels, Zayda Ivanov, Xania Kerimov, you all are under arrest for mass murder. Any thing you say, can and will be used against you." the officers spoke as they shoved the girls into the cars.

"Hey, hey, hey! They're free right now!" I said as I shoved the cop back away from the car. "And you're mistreating the suspect. That's against the law." I glared.

Alex and Jack stood between the cars and the cops.

"Jack," Jackie coughed. "We came back to the country knowing what was to come. Let them take us. We have our case ready to go. See you in court." she smiled bravely.

But it was hard to get us to move. Reluctantly, we stepped aside as the jack-ass officer brushed past us and stepped into the vehicle.

Rian called Marie, who explained that it was following the law. They had to arrest the girls. But they could get their case through, they just had to make it believable. And to be fair, it was.

Jack shook his head with a sigh and got in the backseat of our own car, allowing myself to drive back to the police station.

We'd have to go through a lot of legal procedures. It was going to be hell.


	21. Chapter 21

We chose to be tried together. They allowed that. We held our breath as the jury came to a mutual agreement.

"The jury finds the defendants . . . not guilty."

There were some angry sighs and huffs that came through the crowd.

"Court is adjourned." the judge ruled.

We were free. Home free. I walked outside of the courtroom to be met with Alex's arms.

"Now that you're free, we can start planning our wedding." Alex smiled invitingly.

I melted in Alex's arms as I looked back at Jackie and Jack who were locked in a passionate kiss. All the legal process had taken quite a long time, and I could already see Jackie's tummy swelling. It was going to work out for the better, she and Jack. They both adored kids.

Zack and Xania were going to keep dating steadily, Xania wasn't so sure about marriage yet, although she loved Zack.

Rian was standing off to the side with his girlfriend Cassadee.

"I say we go to Five Guys for victory dinner." Alex wagged an eyebrow.

I perked up at the thought. "_Yes_, delicious fries!"

"Oh, Zayda and her obsession with fries." Jackie grinned.

We stepped into a car, driving as far away as we could from the retched courthouse, and into Pembroke Lakes, a place somewhere in Broward County, Florida.

We found the Five Guys there, and stepped in line. We ordered our food, burgers for everyone but me, I got a grilled cheese. I wasn't a big fan of ground beef.

Jackie naturally went a little crazy with the toppings. Onions, relish, mushrooms, and god knows what else.

Xania kept it simple.

With Five Guys, though, you ordered fries separately from your meal, same with your drinks. We ordered about five large cups of fries. Believe _me_ when I say, I was in fry heaven. Five Guys' fries were God's gift to Earth. 'nough said.

We were eating, and chattering while Jackie sipped on a cup of Mountain Dew, which Xania kept trying to steal.

I, on the other hand, sipped on a cup of water, naturally.

"So . . . Jackie, Xania, my bridesmaids?"

"No shit." Jackie cocked an eyebrow.

"I thought that was a given." Xania smirked.

"And I assume Xani and I will be Jackie's bridesmaid?"

"Again, I thought it was a given." Xania laughed as Jackie nodded in agreement.

Alex and Jack met gazes. "Best man." They said in agreement, before looking towards Zack and Rian with a smile.

"I want to get married in England."

"Manchester Chamber?" Alex's eyes sparkled.

My eyes lit up, "Yes! Manchester." I grinned.

"Oh hey, look, we're going to be taking another trip." Xania and Jackie glanced at each other with a knowing smile.


	22. Chapter 22

I was smoothing out the blue bridesmaid's dress. I was thankful I didn't have a huge baby bump yet, so the dress still fit nicely. There was a black sash high on the waist, and the dress was twirl worthy. Xania and I were wearing blue strappy heels, and to be fair, we looked pretty great. The dresses showed off our legs, and chest. Our hair was loose around our shoulders, and we were holding bouquets of belladonna.

"Wow, you girls look gorgeous!" Jack exclaimed.

There was a smile on both his and Zack's face.

Xania and I twirled and giggled slightly, "You think so?"

Zack strolled over to Xania and kissed her softly, "Beautiful."

Jack wrapped his arms around my waist, rubbing my belly slightly as he kissed my neck ever so softly. "Alex is really happy," Jack murmured softly, "But he's really nervous."

"Zayda's not much different. She keeps wondering if she looks okay, and she's worried about Isobel really liking her or not." I smiled to myself.

"Did you have fun at the bacholorette party?" Jack cocked an eyebrow.

"Yes, yes we did. We had a stripper!" I laughed.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, but he had a small package." I teased.

I turned and kissed him, "It's almost time, go get Alex ready, the flower girls have to go and then the bridesmaids." I paused. "Did Alex's father agree to walk Zayda through the aisle?"

Jack smiled and poked my nose, "Yes, Peter loves Zayda so far and he's happy for Alex."

I smiled back, "I'm guessing he doesn't know about our past?" I teased.

Jack shook his head seriously, "I'd prefer to keep it like that. And what about you? Who will be walking you through the aisle, Miss Soon-to-be-Barakat?"

I shrugged, "You know we all lost our family ties. We'll figure it out when the time comes, Jack." I kissed him. "Now, go get Alex out there, tell Peter that Zayda's ready to go."

Jack turned to leave.

"Oh! Make sure they have the list of songs to play at the reception! I want to make sure White Wedding is on there. It's a fitting song, now isn't it?" I laughed.

Jack smiled, "It's a nice day to start again." he blew me a kiss before he left.

I laughed and Xania and Zack followed him out.

I made my way to the room Zayda was prepping herself in. She was behind another wall, so I couldn't exactly see her in the dress we had picked out.

"Zay! Peter's coming, you're gonna be a Gaskarth! Get your ass out here in five!" I laughed before retreating to the doors that would open so Xania and I could walk out to the platform where Zayda and Alex would wed.

With a smile of my face, the music began to play, and Xania and I did our slow march to the platform.

When we reached it, I turned and took my place next to Xania. I saw a huge smile on Joyce and Bassam Barakat's faces. I couldn't help but smile back. Alex was like another son to them, and Joyce had just found out about the news of the engagement and pregnancy of Jack and I. May and Joe were seated next to their parents, but I looked back at Jack.

Standing at a handsome six-foot-one-and-a-half inches. He was some eye candy in a suit. He smiled a heart breaker smile at me, before we both turned to look down the aisle when Here Comes The Bride began to play.

And must I say, here came a beautiful bride.


	23. Chapter 23

I had to keep my jaw from dropping when Zayda stepped out from behind the doors with a smile on her face, and a bouquet in hand. She wore a white dress that went to her knees. The corset was tight on her body but it featured a pretty lace pattern. The skirt of the dress was loose around her hips but just as elegant. There was a satin cobalt blue sash around her waist that tied vertically, contrasting to the horizontal pattern the entire sash had. She wore white, blue threaded ballet flats. Her hair was nearly perfect underneath her white veil, but I could still see her gray eyes twinkle.

My father was beaming with pride as he nodded at me in acceptance.

I was one lucky man.

She slowly stepped onto the platform and passed her bouquet back to Jackie.

Her eyes met mine and we both smiled brightly at each other.

The music cut, and the priest began with his irritatingly long monologue. There was nothing more at this point than for the priest to get on with it and wed us. But no, he had to get all fancy on us.

We finally got to the vows. I started.

"I, Alexander William Gaskarth, take you, Zayda Ivanov, to be my partner, loving what I know of you, and trusting what I do not yet know. I eagerly anticipate the chance to grow together, getting to know the woman you will become, and falling in love a little more every day. I promise to love and cherish you through whatever life may bring us." I breathed and she smiled through the tears that were pooling in her eyes.

"I, Zayda Ivanov, take you, Alexander William Gaskarth, to be my friend, my lover, the father of my children and my husband. I will be yours in times of plenty and in times of want, in times of sickness and in times of health, in times of joy and in times of sorrow, in times of failure and in times of triumph. I promise to cherish and respect you, to care and protect you, to comfort and encourage you, and stay with you, for all eternity."

I gripped her hand as I wiped away a run away tear from my eye. I truly did love this girl with all of my heart.

There were a few more words from the priest wishing the marriage luck and good times, before the priest finally said, "You may now kiss the bride."

Oh and trust me, I kissed her. I pulled back her veil, and kissed her like it was the first time. And trust me, it felt like it. I had been just as nervous and fidgety then too. But this kiss was sealing the bright future I'd be having with this woman. The beautiful woman. This woman I loved.

I led her back through the aisle as we had flower petals and rice thrown on us before we finally got to the limousine. Only to be met by Jackie, Jack, Zack, Rian, Cassadee, and Xania join us.

"Hey, gotta crash the wedding somehow! And make sure you guys don't start an early honeymoon!" Jackie teased as she settled in Jack's lap.

The car slowly eased itself to the place we booked for the wedding reception.

Zayda and I sat at our table reserved for the newly wed couple. The rest of our best friends would sit at a table near us with our, well, my family.

Soon the places was packed with all of our loved ones. Zayda and I stood to have our first dance, but Jackie stood up and picked up a mic.

"Uh-uh! Bridesmaid has to do her speech! And I will do it, darn it!" she smiled sincerely at Zayda.

Zayda had began blushing.

"First let me start of by saying, Gaskarth, this girl truly loved you from day one. There were times were I didn't think she'd shut up!" Jackie smiled, "She thought you were sexy, hot, and what did she say? An animal in bed?"

Zayda's eyes widened with shock, but it couldn't smother the huge grin on her face.

"Remember how you and I met, Zay? I scared you shitless talking about some show we used to watch on the internet. And remember all of our wacky sleep overs before we got all serious with our jobs?"

Zayda nodded to herself.

"Anyway, you and Alex look gorgeous together. Oh! Alex, good luck with her eating habits. She'll either starve you, or make you cook, either way, it'll be hell."

Zayda turned red as a tomato.

"I love ya, Zayda, a lot, you and Xania are my best friends. Better than anyone could ever have asked for. But I wish you both happiness, and lots and lots of babies!"

"I'll get you back!" Zayda teased.

"Okay!"

Jackie handed over the mic to Jack.

Oh. Fuck.

"The bridesmaids look absolutely smashing today, and only rightly outshone by our bride, Zayda. And, I'm sure you'll agree with me gentlemen, today is a sad day for single men, as another beauty leaves the available list. And ladies, I'm sure you'll agree that today's passing by without much of a ripple." Jack teased.

I sighed as I rolled my eyes, but I couldn't help but smile.

"Ladies and gentlemen. It takes a strong and intelligent man to realize his dreams and achieve his goals in life and love. A man that is not afraid to live life to its fullest and embrace what is truly important. But enough about me . . . I'm here to talk about Alex and Zayda. Two people who have come together today to form a union that will surely last forever." he raised his glass and turned to Zayda, "Zayda . . . you look absolutely beautiful. Alex is lucky to have found such a wonderful gal to share his life with. Alex is my best friend and I'm honored that he chose me to be his best man on this most important day in your lives. I wish you both peace and happiness in your new life together and may God bless your union." he tipped his glass back.

After the laughing ceased, the music began. Summertime by My Chemical Romance began playing and Zayda and I swayed to it. I was enjoying the lyrics and meaning.

_And if you stay, I would even wait all night  
><em>

_Or until my heart explodes  
><em>

_How long, until we find our way in the dark and out of harm_

_You can run away with me_

_Anytime you want_

But like all good things, the song came to an end.

Then came the time to pulled Zayda's garter down, which I did after Zayda threw her bouquet. Funny, Jackie caught it. Just so I wouldn't have to hear it from Jack, after I was done sliding Zayda's garter down with my teeth, I threw it towards him. I, fortunately, had to stick my head under Zayda's dress. It was pretty great.

Then we all had the pleasure of watching Jack use his teeth to slide the garter up Jackie's leg with his own teeth. It was quite entertaining, Jack was obviously teasing Jackie because she kept squirming in her seat, just like Zayda had.

Zayda and I continued to dance, though. The song changed to White Wedding by Billy Joel and Jackie and Jack joined us on the dance floor, along with all of our best friends.

"It is a nice day to start again," I murmured softly in Zayda's ears and kissed her.

I kissed Zayda Gaskarth.


	24. Chapter 24

Alex and Zayda were visiting Jackie and I for the day. Alex and I were both off, so we decided to make it a get together. Zack and Xania were supposed to be here soon, along with Rian and Cassadee. Zayda's belly was swelling, she was in her second trimester. While Jackie was cradling our one year old baby girl, Sabbeth.

Sabbeth had my brown hair and Jackie's green and hazel eyes. She was beautiful. She was the only girl I would love just as much as Jacqueline. Unless, of course, I had another baby girl.

"Try not to break Alex's hand during labor." Jackie smiled as she rocked Sabbeth slowly.

"I'll try." Zayda smiled and twined her fingers with Alex's. I could see the faint glint coming off of her wedding ring.

We still lived in Miami, but we vacationed to different places often. Jackie and Zayda loved to travel. Xania needed to travel, she was restless with staying in the same place.

Zayda and Jackie fell into conversation about their childhood, and Alex and I would add our own stories. It was nice. It was . . . it was normal.

When the rest of our friends came over, Jackie and I prepared dinner for our friends. While the food was cooking, Sabbeth got her food and was put in her crib.

Our dinner was filled with a lot of the old things we used to do. Raunchy jokes, laughter, teasing flirtatious comments, stories, and jokes about each other. It was nice. We all seemed to miss doing all of those things. Which, it was true.

We were all adjusting to our new lives. It was, like I said, normal. We had no Abram threatening our lives, we had no company to run from. We were settled down, and making sure all our dreams came true.

We were happy.

"Remember that time we went larping in the mall?" Jackie smiled.

"What the hell is larping?" I quirked an eye brow.

"_Live action role play_." Zayda explained.

"Oh yeah! We were messing around and went to the mall in full Renaissance costume and fake swords and we started sword fighting." Xania laughed.

"Remember how much money we made?" Jackie smirked.

"Yeah! Some people were randomly throwing money at us." Zayda giggled.

"We had only did it for fun." Xania shrugged.

The thought of them sword fighting in a mall only brought up images of them murdering hundreds of innocent people. I could feel my face drop into a blank expression.

The truth was, we could live about as normal a life as we could, but we couldn't escape our pasts.

Jackie, Xania, and Zayda all had rough pasts. Whether they killed purposely or because of force, we couldn't be sure exactly. All we knew is that they did in fact kill hundreds of people.

Zack, Alex, and I had in fact accepted this fact.

But it was still hard. Our family couldn't know, our children couldn't know. No one could know but us, and the court.

We'd have to live through the judgement.

But we all had happy roads ahead of us. And we were going to take advantage of that.


End file.
